Disclaimer: Rent was created by Jonathan Larson. Someone else now has the rights to it; I'm not sure who, but not me. I'm only having a bit of fun. Please don't sue me... pretty please?

Mark heard the car pull out of the driveway and found Roger standing in the bedroom scratching at his arm. "Rog? You OK?" he asked.

Roger yelped and jumped in surprise. He quickly pulled his sleeve down; a few of the bandages had been pulled loose and there was a small amount of blood, not enough to worry him though. "F-fine," he replied nervously, unsure whether or not Mark was angry with him. "I'm fine."

Mark gently took his injured arm in his hands and inspected the damage. There were a few abrasions, nothing deep though, and one of the butterfly closures had shifted a little. He led Roger to the bathroom and he washed off the cuts and put some antiseptic on them. "This isn't too bad. All of the new abrasions have already started to close."

"That's good," Roger said. He supposed that when Mark was angry with him, if not now, it would be a lot worse than when Robert was angry. Mark was smart and calculating. "I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for?" asked Mark.

Roger shrugged. He wasn't sure why, he just felt sorry.

Mark led Roger back to the bedroom and gave him a hug. "I'm proud of you for opening up so much to David."

Roger nuzzled Mark's shoulder gently, feeling guilty because he hadn't opened up to David. He had lied.

Mark continued. "I think we're going to have to practice answering questions about Robert, though. You need to be ready to talk about your arm in the courtroom."

Roger went rigid, as he always did when that topic came up. "I-I told you," he whimpered softly, hoping Mark wouldn't push him. "I told you, I fell..."

"No you didn't Roger. I told you, you can't get that type of injury from a fall."

"W-well then how can you get it?" he asked. Surely there was some harmless way.

Mark looked into his eyes to show his seriousness. "The only time you get that break pattern with the type of damage to your arm is when a person grabs the arm and tries to twist it off. When you came in the first time, there were still finger marks on your arm."

Roger trembled. He gnawed on his thumb. "So... you know," he concluded. "You don't need me to say..."

Mark wrapped his arms around Roger again, holding him close. "I know it Roger, and that's what they'll be asking me. Along with your other injures. But since they gave you a subpoena, too, you'll have to testify. You have to tell the truth in court. It's against the law not to." His tone was soothing, not harsh, but he knew Roger was not going to like this information.

Roger had heard as much. He knew about perjury and the exceptions, self-incrimination and things, and he knew none of that applied to him. What he did was wrong, not illegal. "W-will... will I have to say why?" he asked. Maybe he could explain if he didn't say what started it.

Mark wasn't sure. Most likely Robert's lawyers would ask that, in the effort to break Roger. "I don't know. It may come up, but I think first we should get you comfortable just saying what happened."

"But you can tell them," Roger said softly. Mark would say, and he wouldn't have to.

Mark shook his head. "They're still going to ask and make sure what you say agrees with what I say."

He closed his eyes softly. So there was no way to get out of this. "Okay," Roger said softly.

Mark spoke in a soft, steady voice. "What happened to your arm, Roger?"

"Robert had my arm in his hands." Roger kept his eyes closed, remembering the scene like it was something in a movie. If he was only a witness, this didn't hurt. "He kept twisting... he said he'd pull it off. It hurt. He pulled me into the bedroom." He opened his eyes. "That's it. That's what happened."

Mark pulled him in for another hug. "I know that was hard for you. You did well. Do you think you can tell that to other people now?"

Probably not, Roger knew. "I think so," he said. He also knew what Mark wanted to hear. He was relieved that Mark settled for only that piece of the story.

Mark had his doubts about Roger's confidence. It was one thing to tell him in the privacy of the bedroom, and another entirely to testify at a trial, but Mark wanted Roger to feel successful in a little way. He know the lawyer would ask what happened in the bedroom and Robert's lawyer would try to turn the blame on Roger. However, he needed to tread carefully with Roger. If he asked enough, maybe Roger would learn to tell the truth automatically. "I'm going to keep asking you, so you can practice," Mark informed him. What Mark didn't say was that he planned to press for more details once the response became automatic.

Roger nodded. He knew argument was futile. "All right," he ceded, no fight in him. He sat down on the bed.

"But not tonight. How do you think the session with David went? Oh, he told me that he really enjoyed the meal tonight."

Roger gave a tiny smile. He couldn't help it; he loved being complimented. It meant someone was happy with him. "I guess it went well. Did I do ok?"

Mark smiled back at Roger. "Yes, you did fine. I know it was kind of hard for you to talk about some of those things."

"Was he angry?" Roger asked softly. He wouldn't totally blame David if he was. Roger had run out on the session, and he knew it.

"I don't think so. I bet he's had worse things happen than someone ending the session a little early." Mark actually knew this for a fact, since he had stitched up a few wounds for David on one occasion, but he couldn't tell that to Roger.

"That's good." Roger touched the bedsheet gently. "I'm going to have to say stuff in court, aren't I?" he asked.

Mark confirmed this with a nod. "They're probably going to want you to go into a lot of detail, too."

"Will I have to tell them what I did?" he asked, touching his arm. He meant what had inspired Robert to nearly rip his arm off.

"I don't think the DA will ask, but Robert's lawyer might." Mark confirmed.

He nodded, his mind registering this new fact. He didn't want to do this, but he knew he couldn't lie. Not in court. "They won't put him away," he said softly.

"Roger, they already have him on statutory rape charges. The fact of the matter is he had sex with you before the age of seventeen. He's already going to do time for that. You haven't been seventeen long and my testimony will prove that he had sex with you before your birthday. If the DA can prove assault he'll be away longer, and probably get some help"

"H-he's not bad," Roger said. "He's just sick." He needs attention, and Mark's words comforted Roger. Someone would help Robert, and he would be ok. "Promise you won't hate me," he asked.

"I couldn't hate you, Roger. I love you too much." He hugged Mark again. "You can tell me anything."

Roger shook his head. "He wasn't... too wrong. Maybe a little cruel, but it was justified."

Mark reassured him, "I won't hate you. I promise. Please tell me."

"Tell you... um... what?" Roger knew, but he found that feigning ignorance bought him time. Maybe Mark would get distracted. Maybe there would be an earthquake!

"Please tell me why Robert hurt your arm." Mark made sure to look Roger in the eye and speak softly and firmly.

"Okay..." Roger licked his lips nervously. "Remember I told you that I wasn't supposed to have orgasms when he wasn't there?" he asked.

Mark nodded. It was one of Robert's more disturbing rules and he cringed at the thought of someone having that much control over Roger.

"Well. I was watching tv, and there was a movie on with a really, really cute actor." Roger blushed. He knew he was trying to justify it, and he knew that it couldn't be justified. "And... I really liked him... and..."

Mark could guess what happened. "You got aroused?"

Roger shook his head. "Um, Robert had some of those, uh, rings, that, you put them on and it makes it hurt when you get hard?" he asked, hoping Mark knew what he referred to.

Mark shook his head. "I'm not exactly sure what you mean...I've never really used anything like that." One of his old boyfriends had worn a leather band, but he used it to keep from coming too quickly.

"It's... it holds back your..." he tried, then blushed painfully. He couldn't talk about his penis, even with a doctor. "Robert had that kind of thing," he said finally.

Mark was still a little confused, but the important thing was that Roger tell the story. "So what happened with the movie?" he asked, hoping to get Roger talking some more.

"I... took-off-the-thing-and-started-masturbating," Roger said, the words pouring out in a rush.

Mark nodded. "That's a perfectly natural thing to do, especially for a teenager... Wait. You said you took off the thing? How long were you wearing it?"

Roger hesitated. Wasn't he supposed to? Somehow he knew there was no way to answer that question without upsetting Mark. "Any time unless he said so."

Mark realized he needed to do some research, but this device might explain why Roger was no loner able to get an erection. He'd investigate this device in the morning. "Sorry for interrupting," he said. "So what happened then, after you started masturbating?"

"Robert came home," Roger said, which to him summarized the entire evening.

"And he saw you masturbating?" Mark knew Roger would stop there unless he asked questions.

He nodded. Yes, Robert walked in on him masturbating.

"What did Robert do? Did he say anything?"

"He grabbed my arm and said he would pull it off. And that he would teach me to look at other men." Roger winced. Mark would probably think he was horrible now.

"And that's when he hurt your arm." It wasn't a question. "Roger, you didn't deserve that. You're allowed to think other men are attractive. You're allowed to pleasure yourself."

Roger shook his head. "No," he said. "No, that's, that's cheating, that's not right," he insisted. As much as he wanted to believe Mark, Robert's lesson had stuck.

"Having a fantasy isn't cheating. Touching yourself isn't either." Mark said simply.

"I didn't mean to!" He really hadn't. It just... happened.

"You did nothing wrong, Roger. Robert was insecure. I know that you would never go out and have sex with a random man. There's a big difference between imagining what something would be like and true infidelity." Mark smiled. "In fact, feel free to touch yourself as much as you want while you're with me."

Did Mark mean that he wanted Roger to masturbate? or just that if Roger wanted to, he could? Roger supposed that Mark meant it was an option. Mark didn't seem to want to influence Roger's actions. "Even if I'm thinking about Brad Pitt and not you?" he asked.

"Even then. I've been known to have a fantasy or two about Brad Pitt myself."

Roger blushed. He hesitated, then asked, "Could I go to the restroom please?"

Mark nodded. "Go ahead. Oh, you don't really need to ask when we're alone in the house. I guess with company it would be polite to excuse yourself first, though."

"Okay." Roger went into the bathroom and shut the door. He took a deep breath, then slipped his hand inside his boxers

Mark had already undressed and slipped under the covers by the time Roger came back. When he felt the warmth of a warm body next to him, he rolled over and quickly found Rogers lips with his own. "Missed you," he mumbled through the kiss.

Roger slipped his arms around Mark. "I missed you, too," he said softly. He was growing quite familiar with the feeling of Mark's body against his, Mark's lips on his.

Mark sighed in contentment and relished in the warmth of Roger's embrace. He realized that their usual positions were reversed. He usually hugged Roger in the bed. He could get used to this. "Do you want to talk about anything?" he asked.

Roger did. He blurted his concern, "Will you still want to be with me if I can't satisfy you?" He was referring to sexual satisfaction. Roger still couldn't get an erection. He felt a sort of tingly something, but couldn't rise to the occasion.

Mark was a little surprised that Roger was so blunt, but was quick to reassure him. "Roger, I love you and I want to be with you. I'll be satisfied with whatever you can offer me, whenever you're ready to offer it." He closed his eyes and then had a revelation. "I just realized that I'm more content lying in a bed talking with you than I ever have been when I was with anyone else."

Roger smiled. He quickly kissed Mark's cheek, surprised at his forwardness tonight. "I really love you," he said.

Mark turned his head and kissed Roger long and hard. "I really love you, too."

to be continued!

Reviews would be very much appreciated... please?